Are Brazilians Latinos? What their identity struggle tells us about race in America

By Frances Negrón-Muntaner, Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Columbia University. Bikini waxes, keratin hair blowouts and all-you-can-eat steakhouses. In the United States, all three are closely associated with the word “Brazilian.” Yet, although none of these things are linked to Latino identity, one of the questions that journalists frequently ask me is, “Are Brazilians Latinos?”…